Washing process



Julie 6, 1939. Y u c. J. sopERl- IOLM 2,161,208.l

' 'WASHING PROCESS l original Filed Nov. 14, l19:55

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Patented June 6, `1939 i y y i i l UNITED STATES PATENT .oEFlcE.

Carl J. Soderholm, Minneapolis, Minn'.

original application November 14, 1935, serial No; 49,741. Divided and this application October 21, 1936, Serial No. 106,741 i y 2 claims. (c1. 8 159) This invention relates to washing processes. disposed, curving into the sides 5 and also curv- This application is a division of my United States ing into the bottom 6. The bottoni 6, while being application for Letters Patent entitled Washing dished and curving into the sides 5, inclines vgenmachine, Serial Number 49,741,- filed November erally upwardly and forwardly from the back 4 5 14,` 1935, andiallowed July 20, 1936, which applito merge into the upwardly curved front 1. Set 3 cation'matured into Patent 2,068,356, issued' Jannormal to the upper part of the front 'l and prouary 19, 1937. Y jecting rearwardly therefrom is a top section It is the main object of the invention to provide forming a water defiector 8. The upper parts novel and improved washing processes for washof the sides 5 and the back 4 are quite sharply l ing clothes, whereby clothes can be thoroughly inwardly curved adjacent the level of the deiiec- 10 and economically washed quickly with a minimum tor B to form the continuously inwardly curved of power and whereby the clothes are prevented upper section 9. A multiplicity of circumferenfrom bunching up or tying together as they are Y tially spaced drain apertures l0 are provided in washed, and whereby the wearv and injury to the the curved upper section 9 and in the form shown clothes through the washing action is reduced to rows of these apertures are provided at three difl a minimum. i ferent levels, the two lowr rows.being at levels Another object is to provide a novel washing adjacent but spaced somewhat below the levelprocess which can be carriedv out in a tub conof the deiiector 8 and the upper row of apertures taining no moving parts and whereby the cumubeing .about at the same level as the defiector I. lative formation of sudsy foam is prevented. A. short continuous flange rises from the inner 20 The iobjects and advantages of the invention edges of deflector 8 and the curved upper section will more fully appear from the following descrip- 9 to form a neck l i. tion, made in connection with the accompanying In the form illustrated the tub A is received drawing, wherein a washing machineis shown within a reservoir i2 having the same general which may be utilized in carrying out my'novel contour as to its back, bottom, sides and. iront, 25 washing processes and wherein like reference as these same parts of the tub A but being o1' characters refer to the same or similar parts somewhat larger size than the tub A.. This reserthroughout the various viewsand, in which, voir l2 may be provided with a skirt i3 about its Fig. 1 is a central vertical section taken through sides and front as shown to give it a somewhat a-washing machine on the line I-l of Fig. 2, as better appearance. The tubAdisposed in inwardso indicated by the arrows; ly spaced relation 'from reservoir l2 may be con- Flg. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line veniently supported from the bottomof the res- 2-2 of Fig. l, as indicated by the arrows; and ervoir by means of rubber capped lugs id at- Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the tub'of the machine. tached to the bottom of the reservoir, thel rubber The washing processes of the invention will be caps ma being provided to stabilize the tub A 35 described in connection with the machine shown, and to prevent the transmission of vibrations although of course it will be understoodthat from the tubA to the reservoir Ill.v It is, of course. other machines than that illustrated may be used understood that the rubber capped lugs I l are not in carrying out the processes of the invention. directly connected to the tub A so that it is possi- 40. For ease of description in the speciflcationand ble to readily remove the tubA from the reservoir claims, the front of the machine is considered for cleaning of the reservoir or the like. l to be the left hand portion of the machine, as The reservoir l2 is equipped with suitable downshown in Fig. 1, of the drawing. y wardly extending `legs l5 whereby the entire ma-v Referringl to the drawing, there is provided in chine may be supported as upon a floor or the accordance with the form illustrated, a tub deslike. The upper edge of the reservoir, which is 45 ignated as an entirety by the letter A. This tub` circular in shape, projects somewhat above the can probably best be described as having the gen-A neck il and received over the top of the reservoirv eral shape of the bo'wl of an ordinary Irishmans is a closure plate I6. Plate I6 has an outer down clay smoking pipe. In plan view the tub A is turned flange received about the outer part of of general circular shape; in transverse vertical the upper portion-of the reservoir I2 and it has a 50 section, as shown in Fig. 2; the tub isof general down turned inner flange received within the semi-circular shape; and lin central longitudinal neck il. To permit ready drainage of water that vertical section, as shown in Fig. l, the tub is of may accumulate on the closure plate i6, the plate somewhat forwardly tipped funnel-shape. `The inclines somewhat downwardly from its outer to back l of the, tub is for the most part vertically its inner portion. A shouldered land flanged cover Il carrying a handle is received within the inner flange of the closure plate Eil to close the top opening in the tub A.

Secured to a shelf I8 attached to the rear legs l5 is an electric motor i@ driving through its shaft 20 a water pump 2l also mounted on the shelf it. Water pump 2| has its intake 2id connected to the lowest part of the reservoir I2 at the central rear portion of the bottom of the reservoir. The outlet 2lb of pump 2I runs through and is connected to the back ,d of the tub A at the central lower part of the same. The outlet 2lb terminates in a mouth 2Ic directed forwardly within tub A in slightly spaced relation above the bottom 6 of the tub. Pump 2l is equipped with a drain cock 22 connected to its lowermost portion.

In preparing the washing machine for operation the tub A and the reservoir I2 are filled to a point somewhat below the level of the lowermost apertures I0. Of course, the cover I1 is removed to fill the machine and the water together with whatever soap or other washing compounds are to be used are initially placed within the `tub 'A, the water working its way through pump 2I Y until part of it is received within reservoir I2.

The clothes to be washed may then be introduced whereupon the top opening in the tub is closed by the cover I1, and the motor I9 is set in operation to drive the pump 2 I The pump 3l will draw the washing fluid from the bottom of the reservoir I2 and force the same violently into the tub A through the mouth 2Ic. Almost immediately the heighth of the washing uid within the tub A will rise to a point above the lowermost apertures I0 while of course the level of the uid within the reservoir I2 will drop to a point considerably below the lowermost apertures I0.

The stream of washing fluid injected into the tub A will move rapidly upwardly and forwardly from the back 4 of the tub along the bottom E and along the front 1, whereupon it will strike the deflector 8 and be directed rearwardly as indicated bythe arrows, Fig. 1. `Water will drain into the reservoir I2 `through the various apertures I0 and due to the fact that the apertures are circumferentially spaced from each other through an arc of at least 120 and preferably through a longer arc, the drainage of the washing uid through these different apertures will notexert sufficient pull on the clothes within the tub to cause the clothes to lodge against the apertures, clog the same and prevent free circulation of the clothes. As the stream of water injected' int-o the tub from the pump strikes the washing fluid already in the tub and the clothes within the tub, all the washing fluid in the tub, together' with the clothes, will be given a circulatory movement revolving generally roughly about a cylindrical axis horizontally disposed.` transversely in the center of the tub. The clothes having moved upwardly and forwardly along the bottom 6 and from I and having been deflected rearwardly by the deflector 8 will arrive near the rear upper portion of the tub, whereupon the weight or" the water soaked clothes will tend to cause them to sink by gravity to the bottom of the tub to be again acted upon by the stream ejected from the pump. Of course, the general current movement of the uid in the tub will also assist in causing the recirculation of the clothes to the bottom of the tub.

By reason of the circulatory action of the clothes, the clothes will string out in a more or less sheet-like form and will not knot, tie or tangle artigos ferential in the water action on the clothes, further assisting in the washing action. The weight of the clothes at the rear part of the tub tends to cause them to drop somewhat more rapidly from the top rear part of the tub to the bottom rear part ofthe tub, thereby producing a further differentiall between the speed of movement of the clothes and the speed of movement of the water to assist the washing action. By reason of these facts, the clothes are very rapidly washed and very thoroughly washed. v

It is found that the water movingtoward the rear of the tub strikes lthe back l of the tub somelwhat below the lowest row of apertures I0. As the water strikes the back 4 it divides downwardly and upwardly, the main body of water passing downwardly. The upper division of water curls upwardly and forwardly to form a back eddy which again enters the main rearwardly directed stream at the top of the tub somewhat forwardly from the rear wall. A large part of the sudsy foam formed at the top of the tub by the soap is worked back into the water between the main stream at the top of the tub and this back eddy whereby part of this sudsy foam is trapped and dissipated. 'I'his .back eddy also working upwardly at the top back partof the tub effectively acts to4 prevent clothes from clinging to the rear part of the curved upper section 9 of the tub.

It has also beenl found that during the washing action the stream issuing from the pump outlet 2Ic fans outwardly -to move the clothes laterally toward thesides of the tub as they move forwardlyI and upwardly with the stream from the outlet. Then as the water and clothes move rearwardly across the upper part of the tub and then downwardly at the back of 'the tub, the water and clothes move inwardly from the side walls toward the center of the tub. This accordlan action or lateral movement of the clothes is highly 'beneficial tothe washing action inasmuch as the lateral movement of the clothes causes them to present different surfaces thereof to the action of the water to secure a thorough washing of all portionsof the clothes.

At the central part of the tub a lower stratum of clothes moves towards the forward part of the tub while avhigher stratum of clothes moves toward the rear part of the tub, and these two strata rub against each other to assist in working the dirt out of the clothes.

As the machine is put into action, the agitation of the washing fluid containing soap ca uses suds to form in the tub, these suds rising to the top of the tub. If nothing was donel to prevent the cumulative formation of these suds at the top of the tub, the suds would soon form so much foam as to interfere with the action Aof the machine. The apertured curved section 9 at the upper part of the tub prevents the cumulation formation of this sudsy foam. The foam will, of course, form until it rises to a level above the lowermost apertures I@ and usually to a point about level with the middle row of apertures lll. The formed foam moved by the water at thetop of the tub is carried over to points adjacent the various apertures i0 and the waterdrainingthrough these apertures cooperating with the curvature of the curved section 9 causes the foam to drain out of.

l the tub particularly through the higher apertures into the reservoir i2. The curved section 9 in conjunction with the surface of the water in the tub andthe movement of the water towards the apertures together with the back eddy traps the foam so as to cause its destruction and ejection from the tub. This same -action does not take place when the curved section 9 is'not provided in the tub. The prevention ofthe cumula-v tive formation of sudsy foam at the top oir the tub is one of the most important features of the present invention. The-location of the. curved section 9 at approximately the same level as the deilector plate 8 also seems to have something to do with the elimination of the foam from the tub. The water drainingl down from the apertures lli o in the reservoir I2 produces a water falls action to prevent the cumulative formation of i'oam in the reservoir. In other words. the water draining from apertures I Bkeep's washing the sudsy Afoam down in the reservoir so as to mix the foam with the water and destroy the foam.

To drain the machine it is only necessary to open the cock 22 in the pump. 'Ihe outlet 2lb of the pump fits loosely through the opening in the rear of 'the tub A so that when desired, cover il, closure plate I6 and the tub A can be quickly removed from the reservoir I2.

The fact that .there are no moving Darts within the tub A, prevents wear on the clothes while they are being washed. The tearing oi the clothes land the breaking of buttons thereon is held to the minimum.

It will be seen that in accordance with my washing process, the clothes and washing iiuid containing soap are circulatedwithin a container by subjecting the clothes and washing iiuid to the action of 'a circulating stream of the iiuid moving in'a substantially circular path in a ver- .tical plane within the container and said stream iscreated by introducing fluid drained from the container under high pressure. The iluid is drained off' by gravity near the top of the. container at a multiplicity of horizontally spaced points and the sudsy foam which is formed by the agitation of the fluid is trappedand drained on with the fluid while the i'luid is beingv collected for reintroduction.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the steps of the washing processes without departingfrom the scope of the present invention which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown and described and set r. .forth in the appended claims.

The present application contains certain sub ject matter which is common to my prior application entitled "Washing process and ma chine, Serial Number 747,035, iiled @ctober 5. 1934.

What is claimed is: O

1. The process of washing clothes which conlsists in introducing into the rear bottom part of a washing tub, containing' clothes. a single high pressurestream of a soapy washing uid drained from the tub while directing -the stream along the tub bottom and toward the tub iront, deecting thestreamat the top front of the tub rearwardly to move the stream rearwardly' toward 20 the tub back and then generally downwardly, to the point of introduction and trapping, withdraw- Y ing and destroying the sudsy foam formed at the top of the washing fluid by continuously I sists in introducing into the real` bottom part of a washing tub containing clothes a single high pressureI stream of a soapy washing iiuiddrained .from the tub while directingthe streamalong the tub bottom and toward thetub front, de- `iecting the stream at the top irontofthev tub rearwardly to move the stream rearwardly against the tub back wall to strike the back wall of the tub anddivide te stream into a major current moving downwa l lygto the point orintroduction of the washing fluid and a minor upwardly moving forwardly and inwardly deilected -back eddy current at the upper rear part of the tub, and draining oii' the iiuid through. the top of the tub wall at the back and sides thereof whereby the draining causes the movement of sudsy foam through the top of the tub wall to continuously eliminate' sudsy foam from the tub and destroy it. I l .CARL J. BODERHOLM. 

